


The Most Precious Thing

by kdm103020



Series: Stony Shorts [3]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Introspective Steve, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 07:23:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10212461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kdm103020/pseuds/kdm103020
Summary: Steve has a mental catalog of Tony’s different smiles.





	

Steve has a mental catalog of Tony’s different smiles.

He doesn’t know exactly how or when it starts, but pretty soon after he meets Tony Stark, he finds himself labeling all of the different expressions that pass over Tony’s surprisingly expressive face. The first one notices is what he likes to call Tony’s “Press Conference Smile.” This is the one that gets pasted across Tony’s face every time a camera gets aimed in his direction, which happens far too often considering he’s both an Avenger and the owner of a Fortune 500 company. It’s gotten significantly worse in the past couple of years now that everyone and their two-year-old has a smartphone, and they have very few compunctions about pushing their devices in Tony’s face. Whenever Tony knows he’s on screen, he immediately goes into presentation mode with a blindingly-white grin that never quite reaches his eyes. Steve absolutely hates it.

Tony’s “Sarcastic Smile” is equally endearing and infuriating. This is the look that he always gives each time he’s said something he _knows_ that he shouldn’t have, and he’s daring you to call him out on it. When they’d first met, the appearance of this particular smirk had driven Steve nearly insane. Now, it’s all he can do to keep a straight face.

Nick Fury has his own special Tony-smile, although Steve wouldn’t exactly say it's a pleasant one. It’s a head tilted to the side, eyebrows raised, grimace type movement usually accompanied by one of Stark’s signature one-liners, which is probably why Steve calls this smile the “Fuck you, Mad Eye.” Nine times out of ten, Fury deserves it.

The “At Home Smile” and the “Science Smile” are similar but not to be confused. The former is one he gives only within the safety of the tower among close friends. The toothiness Tony shows during press briefings is still there, but Tony actually means this one, and his whole face gets involved in the party. Laugh lines appear on the corners of his mouth, his ears twitch in amusement, and his eyes sparkle with genuine pleasure. Steve is eternally grateful when someone from the team manages to draw this one out, or, better yet, when Tony’s in such a good mood that his face rests that way by default.

The “Science Smile” is just as authentic, but it’s definitely a more private occurrence. This is how Tony looks at 3 AM, hyped up on coffee and adrenaline, when he’s made some unfathomable breakthrough or adds a new feature to the Iron Man armor. Steve catches it sometimes when Tony thinks he’s not looking, and on those few but precious occasions, he can’t just believe just how young and unguarded Tony looks.

There are more, of course. Steve has specific opinions about all of Tony’s smirks, grins, grimaces, and facial tics. His favorite, though, is the one that only he gets to see. He’s not even sure if it can be called a smile, considering it’s over in an instant and Tony’s only semi-conscious when he does it. Steve’s still calling it though.

Each morning as Steve gets ready for his run, he turns back to look at Tony still asleep in their bed. He runs his hand along his lover’s face, first cupping his cheek and then running his fingers through Tony’s bed-tousled hair. He leans down, brushes his lips across Tony’s temple, and softly whispers _See you at breakfast_ before walking out of the room. If he’s lucky, he gets a noncommittal sort of grunt before Tony roles over to sprawl out in the middle of the bed. But each and every day, the corners of his mouth will raise just a bit in the tiniest twitch of acknowledgment. Tony’s eyes stay shut the entire time, and it’s probably more of a reflex than a deliberate gesture, but it’s still one of the most beautiful things he’s ever had the privilege of seeing. Soft, sleepy Tony is truly a sight to behold, and he’s eternally grateful that he’s the only one allowed to watch the other man in that moment of vulnerability.

It most definitely puts a smile on his face.

**Author's Note:**

> Look, I wrote something that isn't painful!  This one was fun to think about.  
> 
> Kudos and comments are very much appreciated, and you can find me [here](kdm103020.tumblr.com) on Tumblr.


End file.
